Sasuke: Bleached
by Lord-Cloud-Stryfe
Summary: AU NarutoBleach crossover Sasuke Uchiha.Orphan. Cursed. Blessed? This is the story of Sasuke's world when it collides with bleach.  UPDATE: Now taking this fic back up after not having written for four years. Will attempt to complete and improve
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: So I started this fic a while ago, and stupid college got in the way. But now I'm back, and dedicated to improving and completing this fic. I think it has real potential, and I really hope you guys like it. If you like it, please review or drop me a message!

Sasuke: Bleached™

Chapter One : Meet Sasuke! Meet Hinata! Meet Hollow!

Konoha Town, Night

Leaves swirled in a gentle wind, as a young man opened the church gates. Wrapped tightly in his dark cloak, his faced shadowed, he made his way through the dark churchyard. Stopping before a particular set of graves, he sighed almost imperceptibly. He reached inside his coat and brought out three white roses. Brushing the leaves off the face of the first grave, he reads the inscription aloud, as well of that of the second and third grave.

"Uchiha…Fugaku…Uchiha…Mikoto…" the boy placed a white rose on each tombstone as he read aloud their names. "Father…Mother…It's me…" turning away from their graves, he looked to the third grave.

"And brother too…" he murmured, placing a white rose on the tombstone. "…big brother…Uchiha…Itachi".

He took a step back and glanced at the rest of that area of the cemetery. A rusted sign hung far above his head, proclaiming the area to be reserveed for the Uchiha clan. Below, all of the tombstones began with "Uchiha"

"And…," the boy muttered, "…my entire…clan…" After surveying his family, the boy turns his back on them, and walks out of the black churchyard. Out on the street, he looks up at the dark, overcast sky, and continues on his way.

…

Uchiha Manor

The boy stepped out of the shadows, and made his way up the empty driveway of a large mansion. The mansion towered over the houses on either side of it, the dark side of its gothic architecture accentuated in the waning light of the evening. The boy sweeps aside his black bangs from his face, allowing his hair to fall into its perpetual position, almost raven-like, fashion.

"Home, sweet home…" He muttered, pushing the large entrance doors open.

…

Outside the Uchiha Manor, the wind swirled gently. A sandaled foot landed softly on top of the lightpost nearest the manner. The girl, no, woman it belonged stood on the lightpost with one one foot, the other dangling off it almost gracefully. She wore a black robe, and held her face low, so her dark blue bangs obscured her face.

"Ah, I'm here…I will…continue to patrol, until I receive further orders," she muttered to the slowly darkening evening.

…

_There's a forest fire burning bright  
Spreading quickly towards our last rites  
Nowhere to run, pointless to hide  
Just lay there and scream, pretending to try  
Pretending..._

Konoha High school

_Of late…I've been getting these strange feelings…_

_Like…there's more…out there…_

Sasuke stepped out of the school gates and into the afternoon air, relatively pleased that another school day had ended, although his stoic face betrayed none of his feelings. He hooked his hands into the straps of his schoolbag, which was currently residing on his back, and started the trek homewards. After passing a lonely deserted block, he stopped suddenly, body rigid, head up, eyes staring wildly around.

_What is this…weird feeling?_

Sasuke slowly surveyed the deserted surroundings. The neighbourhood shops were all closed, barred and shuttered. Homes were locked tight, and no lights were visible. But the feeling persisted…He shook his head violently. There was nothing there, but still…when he looked towards the end of the street, he was shocked. Squinting, he looked again. It was almost as if…there was…a figure there. A huge, hulking figure. But it was barely visible, instead, he could just barely see the outlines of the figure instead.

_What…what is that? What's…going on?_

…

Nearby, the girl dressed in black spun around quickly.

"A Hollow!" she muttered. Shifting her hand slightly, she held the grip of the sword hidden beneath her robes, and dashed at almost superhuman speed in the direction of the alley Sasuke was in.

…

_I suddenly feel…this…is so weird…_

Sasuke stood, riveted in fear, at the oncoming creature. It seemed like the daylight dimmed as it approached, dragging its hands on the ground. Cold sweat broke out on Sasuke's forehead.

_What…is it?_

A woman, robed in black, suddenly appeared in the corner of his peripheral vision. Sasuke whipped his head around to see her properly. She was had dark blue hair, cut short at the back but with bangs obscuring her eyes. She wore black robes, complete with a sash at her waist. Most curious however, was the wicked-looking sword at her hip, tucked into the sash. To Sasuke, she seemed like a fallen angel.

She moved towards the hulking figure at the end of the alley, only turning her head once in Sasuke's direction. Satisfied that Sasuke appeared unharmed, she continued her slow journey towards the figure.

"Hey!" Sasuke yelled. "Who are you? What is that?"

She halted suddenly. Behind her, the monster stirred, and started moving forward.

"You can see me?" She asked Sasuke softly.

As melodic as her voice sounded to Sasuke, he was truly captivated by her eyes. They were pure white, yet instead of seeming blank, they seemed to be holding incredible emotions behind them. Suddenly, Sasuke's eyes widened. Behind the girl, the monster suddenly reared up and lunged.

"Move!" Sasuke shouted at the girl, and roughly lunged at her himself, pushing her out of the way. Unfortunately, that put him directly in the monster's trajectory. He suddenly found himself enclosed in two huge arms, and brought in front of the masked face. Looking at the mask the monster wore, Sasuke saw the eye holes and mouth hole were surprisingly dark, almost as if that was the true face of the monster.

His eyes widened.

"Oh, shit."

...

End of Chapter

A/N: Thanks for making it this far! Everything your heart desires, coming up in the next chapter!


	2. The Search Is Over

_**Sasuke: Bleached**_

Author's note: First off, thanks a lot 4 the positive reviews! They're really encouraging!

""Strange is our **Situation** Here Upon Earth."- Albert Einstein

Chapter 2: Something Bigger Than You Think

Time slowed down for Sasuke, as the white-masked monster lifted him in his hands. When he was about level with the mask, the monster roared at him.

_What the hell is this thing? Where is the woman I saved?_

_Is this the way it ends? I never…I never got to…_

Suddenly, in his peripheral vision, the robed woman moved. But this time, her movement was too fast to follow. Twisting his head wildly, he struggled against his captor's hold in order to catch a glimpse of what had happened to her.

The monster, noticing that its second prey had disappeared, started to roar in anger, but its roar was suddenly cut short, and then transformed into a scream of pain. When Sasuke glanced upwards, he saw the woman removing her sword from the monster's neck. Screaming in agony, the monster immediately let Sasuke go, and began to thrash around. Sasuke quickly dodged the flailing appendages and retreated to a safe distance to watch the fight.

Dodging the flailing fists, the woman leapt into the air and delivered a mighty slash to the creature's mask. It spit the mask in two, and behind it, Sasuke could make out a man's face, smiling gratefully. Then the creature dissipated, pieces of it dissolving and then disappearing into thin air. Sasuke merely gaped in horrified disbelief, and the woman placed her blade back into the sheath, and then tucked it into the sash at her hip, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Behind her, Sasuke gaped in obvious confusion.

_What the fuck..._

She then turned to Sasuke, her hauntingly white eyes focusing on him completely. Immediately forgetting his fear, Sasuke summoned his badass attitude to his disposal and was about to demand an explanation, when she did something he would never had anticipated.

Clasping her hands together, she bowed to him .

"Th-Thank you for a-at-attempting to save me…," she started. "But, you really shouldn't have…In fact, you shouldn't be able to see me…"

Sasuke noted, with a mixture of amusement and mild disgust, that the woman had a slight stutter. On closer inspection, even though he had just witnessed her He pulled himself up to his full height, and glared at her, even though his intimidation attempts were less effective due to the fact that she had a sword and superhuman abilities, while he had only his righteous indignation.

"Wha-What?" Sasuke spluttered. "First off, who the hell are you, anyways? What was that thing?"

" I am…a…Shinigami…," she said quietly. "That was a Hollow…" she suddenly snapped her eyes up, as if she had suddenly remembered something, and she stared at him intently for a second.

Sasuke paused. "What?"

"I-I'm sorry." she muttered, turning away from Sasuke.

"Wha-hey!" Sasuke managed to protest as she began to walk away. "Stop! I'm not done with you!"

She paused, and turned around. Gazing directly at him, she slowly but clearly stated " I have already said too much. I must go now. You should not even have seen me."

Sasuke was, to say the least, dumbfounded. Not only had she saved his life, but she went from stuttering to reprimanding him as well? Nobody had ever done this before. Never.

She spun around again, and jumped and disappeared from sight, but not before leaving him with a little bit of parting advice, which he would later wonder about.

"In the future…you should probably be a bit nicer to people you just meet…Mr. Uchiha"

Sasuke spent the entire night wondering, among other things, _just how she knew he was from the Uchiha clan…_

Konoha High School

Sasuke trudged to school in a bout of deep introspection as per usual. This was mostly due to the fact that he had yet to resolve in his mind the events of last night. His teachers however, would be largely unconcerned. After all, Sasuke was always, and always would be, a straight A student. He always seemed to effortlessly pass classes that other students failed, and as long as the teachers could brag that they had a brilliant student, they were content to leave him alone.

When he arrived at his classroom however, he was greeted with an interesting sight. In front of the class, stood a beautiful pink haired girl, whom he had never seen before. He brushed past her and sat down, completely missing the interested stare the girl gave him.

"Class," their teacher began. "Today, we have a new student. Please join me in welcoming, Sakura Haruno!"

All the boys, except Sasuke, applauded enthusiastically, while the girls were more reserved with their applause. Instead of applauding, Sasuke merely put his head on his desk and pretended to sleep. Sakura watched him, ignoring the rest of the boys.

When school finished, Sasuke quickly started out for home. He wanted to deposit his school things, and then go out and try to find the lady again, in order to extract the answers he needed. However, once outside the school building, he encountered a pink-haired snag in his plans.

Sakura was approaching him quickly, with a slightly predatory look in her eye.

"Hi…Sasuke…," she began. "My name's…"

" Hi. Sakura." He cut her off. "It's really nice to meet you, but I have to be somewhere else right now. Whatever the hell it is…someone else can help you."

Satisfied that he had effectively dealt with that nuisance, Sasuke began to move off again, but he was stopped when Sakura grabbed on to the sleeve of his uniform.

"Sasuke…I-I'm new and…I…want to be…your friend." She managed to get out.

Sasuke looked at her eager, hopeful eyes, and scoffed. "Why?" He asked her, schooling his face into an impassive mask, while inside, he was truly sick of the conversation.

"Because you're….interesting…and mysterious, not to mention brilliant. You didn't say a word all day, but you got everything right on your quiz."

"Whatever." Sasuke shrugged his shoulders and began to walk off. Secretly though, he was the least bit intruiged by her answer. She was the first fangirl not to try hit on him during their first conversation.

Behind him, Saukura watched him walk off with a furrowed brow.

"Silence breeds consent…," she muttered, as she watched him walk away.

…

Sasuke wondered the streets of Konoha, searching for the lady he had seen yesterday. After a few hours of searching, Sasuke noticed that the sun was setting. Sighing, he set out for his home, deciding to abandon the search for tonight.

Arriving at the Uchiha Manor, he looked up at it impassively. Ever since has family died, it seemed less like a home, and much more like an impressive prison. The constant emptiness he felt inside it was a constant reminder to him of the fact that his entire family had…perished.

Shaking his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts, he stopped his contemplations and began to make his way up to the front door, when he froze.

_This…_

Behind Sasuke, leaves fluttered in a light wind.

_This feeling…_

When the leaves, settled, a dark, hulking figure materialized behind Sasuke. At the same time, Sasuke doubled over, holding his head, as he fought to clear his mind of a suddenly sharp pain.

_What…is this?_

He heard a footstep behind him, and he turned around, ready to get rid of the intruder, when he saw the huge figure behind him.

_What the…this is just like last time!_

It was a monster like the one Hinata had fought. On its face, there was a white mask, almost like a skull of some sort, the mouth twisted into a hideous grin, and the eye sockets glowing. Its large body was covered with dark, matted fur, and its arms hung so low that they dragged on the ground as it moved. It fixed its eyes on Sasuke, and began approaching him.

For the second time in his life, Sasuke was frozen in fear. His eyes widened, as he watched the thing lick its non-existent lips, or to be exact, Sasuke watched a tongue slowly unfurl from the mouth hole of the mask.

_I…am a Uchiha. I won't dishonor my family by dying here!_

He slightly spread his feet, to be better able to dive to the side if the thing attacked. Suddenly his vision swam, and…for a brief moment, _the whole world seemed bathed in red_. Grabbing his temples, Sasuke staggered away from the approaching Hollow.

_Damn…_

_This pain…I guess I really do die tonight._

The Hollow charged at him, its long clawed hand outstretched.

_D-Dammit! _

After a moment, Sasuke noticed two things. One was that he did not feel the excruciating pain that being stabbed by a monster usually results in. Two, there was a girl in front of him, dressed in black robes.

_That lady…_

"Damn Shinigami!" the Hollow drawled. "Always getting in the way of my meal…"

The Hollow then leisurely withdrew its now-bloody claw, _from _Hinata, and used its other claw to throw her into Sasuke.

"Shi-Shit! How bad is it?" Sasuke whispered, attempting to asses the severity of the wound.

"Ah, Sasuke. I'm so sorry-" Hinata stopped in mid apology as she noticed that Sasuke's eyes were no longer the onyx they were previously.

_His spirit…his red eyes…Could it be? Plus, I can't fight in this condition, even with my zanpakto..._

She came to a split second decision.

"Sasuke.." She whispered. "Take my sword…and stab yourself with it!"

-End Chapter-

Author's note: Sorry this took so long...Please drop a review if you feel like it!


	3. Strong Fires Rising

Sasuke: Bleached

Author's note: Wow...revising this fic shows just how much of a kid I was when i wrote it...the A/Ns that I used to have were _terrible_. Oh well. Here's the revised third chapter, as per usual, drop a review if you feel like it!

Chapter 3: Strong Fires Rising!

Most of the time, Sasuke was surrounded by idiots. At least in his opinion. Idiots who were prone to shouting quite random, inexplicable things. However, sometimes, he heard such a weird, random, statement that made absolutely no sense was one of those times. So he responded as best he could.

"What. The. Hell?" he muttered, almost inaudibly. _We're fucked...the wound made her delirious!_

"Please..." she gasped out, taking the sword from her sash and handing it to Sasuke. "Just...trust me-" she halted mid-sentence, coughing up blood. When she looked up at Sasuke again, he saw the tears in her surprsisingly white eyes.

"Please...save us...the only way..."

"How the hell is stabbing myself going to help this situation?" Sasuke yelled, watching fearfully as the hollow approached.

"I-I'm going to give you-" she paused here to spit out a bit of blood, and Sasuke cringed as if it was his fault. In some ways, it was. "some of my power...y-you can become...a Shinigami..."

Sasuke gasped. "Shinigami?"

The lady nodded, obviously in pain. "Yes. A Death G-God!"

_D-Dammit...I...I-I can't...save...Brother, what do I do?_

Suddenly, in Sasuke's mind's eye, he saw a vision of his brother staring down at him. _Weak..._

_His father appeared beside his brother. Our clan is special Sasuke. We are strong. We stand tall, we never give up, we always succeed. _

_I-I'm an Uchiha...I have to be stronger than this!_

He grasped the sword firmly, staring at it as if it was his entire world. Slowly, he drew out out the sword from its sheath. Seeing this, the Hollow paused in its advance. It favoured Sasuke with a wicked grin.

"What's a weak human like you going to do with a Soul Slayer?" the Hollow started advancing again, the disturbing grin still plastered accross its mask.

"Weak?" Sasuke muttered, as he held the sword up in front of him. "I'm not...," he glanced once at the woman lying prone beside him."...WEAK!" he yelled as he thrust the sword through his own midsection. The Hollow blanched.

"Huh?" It muttered.

Sasuke froze for a moment, hands still wrapped around the hilt of the sword which he himself had embedded in his own chest. His eyes drifted downwards, noticing the suprising lack of blood. Suddenly an explosion of white light burst forth from Sasuke's body. It engulfed the entire area, forcing the woman to throw up her hands to shield her eyes.

_How is he...taking so much of...my power?_

When the light faded, both the hollow and the woman were confused. Through its masked, the hollow narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth at Sasuke.

_That human...he's...completely different_ the hollow. _Those eyes..._

Sasuke was now dressed in black robes similar to the lady. Strapped to his back, was a large sword, an oversized version of the lady's sword. It obscured the Uchiha fan symbol on his black robes. His stance exuded defiance, and his entire body emmanated an aura of power.

The Hollow faltered in his charge. "Damn you, Shinigami!" it yelled, and started forward again, its sights on Sasuke. Sasuke ran to meet the Hollow, stopping a little in front of it. He grasped the hilt of his sword, as the Hollow lifted his foot up to kick Sasuke. One strong swing later, and the Hollow's foot was separated from its body, causing the Hollow to roar in fury.

"D-Damn you human! I'll kill you and EAT YOUR SOUL!" the Hollow yelled.

No sooner had he finished the last words, than Sasuke stepped in under his guard, and jumped up. For a fleeting moment, Sasuke was level with the Hollow's mask, and saw the fear in the eyeless sockets. Sasuke gave a mighty slash, and completely severed the Hollow's right arm, amidst a spray of blood. The Hollow screamed and thrashed, and dodging the last flailing arm, Sasuke dashed in again and, just like that, the Hollow lost another limb. Bleeding from the stumps of his appendages, the Hollow's body crashed to the ground. The Hollow only looked silently at Sasuke as he approached.

Smirking down at his defeated enemy, Sasuke asked only one question.

"Who's weak now?"

One more slash, this time to the Hollow's mask, ended its existence. Sasuke gave the empty air where the Hollow once was with an empty smirk, and turned to the lady laying half-conscious on the ground.

"As for you..."

On her instructions, Sasuke carried the black-robed lady(who he learned was called Hinata) to a seemingly ranshacked building. Inside, they found a girl unconscious on the floor, who looked exactly like Hinata, except for the differences in attire. Sasuke gently placed Hinata down next to the girl.

"There, I delivered. Now what?" Sasuke asked expectantly.

He watched as Hinata shifted closer to the girl, and then his eyes widened in amazement, as she _merged_ with the unconscious girl. Where there were once two prone bodies, one dressed in black, and the other adorned in a school uniform, there was now only one...clad in the simple uniform of their high school. This body looked exactly like Hinata. Sasuke, after looking around wildly for the black-robed Hinata, leaned down and inspected her, making sure she was breathing, eyes examining every feature of her soft face...until her white eyes shot open. Her sudden return to consciousness startled Sasuke, and he lost his balance, and would have toppled straight onto her, if his reflexes had not allowed him to brace himself by placing his hands beside her head.

They both stayed frozen in that position for a few moments, Sasuke watching as her cheeks were slowly coloured red by her blushing. Then Hinata broke the silence.

"...p-pervert!" she whispered and drew both legs up and kicked him. Caught off guard, Sasuke flew accross the room.

Struggling to his feet, Sasuke realized that for such a seemingly small girl...she had a _hell_ of a kick. He gestured at her angrily.

"W-What the HELL was that for? I was checking on you! And...what THE HELL is going on?"

Hinata made no response, instead she turned her head the other way, and presumably continued blushing. Bewildered, Sasuke fought down the impulse to shout some more, and instead grabbed Hinata by her uniform, and turned her face to him.

"What...is...going...on." he hissed softly.

Eyes widened, Hinata stared back at him for a few moments. Then slowly, her mouth opened and uttered the three words that forever changed Sasuke's life.

"You are shinigami."

Hinata's explanation made little sense at first to Sasuke. According to her, she was a Shinigami(or Death God), sent from a "celestial" place called Soul Society. A shinigami's duties were to ensure the balance of souls between both worlds( the human world and Soul Society) by sending the souls of dead people to Soul Society. They also fought off Hollows, who were after the souls of dead people...and who themselves, incidentally, were souls who decayed and became evil. Sasuke thought it was a lot to take in at once, but he noticed that Hinata looked a bit preoccupied while she was telling him. When he asked her about it, she looked panicked for a second.

Turning to him, wringing her hands she muttered something incomprehensible. Annoyed, Sasuke glared at her. "Well?"

Eyes lowered she started. "Well...when we were out there...I lent you my power."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I guessed. So, want it back?" he held out his hands. "Take it. I don't want it anyway. I have enough on my plate."

Hinata shook her head worriedly. 'Th-that's just it...I can't."

Sasuke stared at her. "Wha-?"

Hinata interrupted him. "I don't quite know what happened...I mean, the Hollow was obviously drawn to your already high spirit power...and I only meant to give you a little of my own power, just enough to defeat it..."

Sasuke watched her rambling, saying nothing.

"...but, I suppose it must have something to do with your spirit power because...you took all of my power. And I can't seem to take it back."

Sasuke's jaw dropped, and he stared at her dumbfounded for a few minutes. "So...what does this mean for me, exactly?"

Hinata ducked her head awkwardly. "Well...I was sent here to patrol this town...so, if it's not too much to ask..."

Sasuke's jaw dropped as he understood her unasked question. Then he violently shook his head. "No freakin' way." Hanging his head, he looked down. "I never...I-I never wanted any of this shit. It's your problem...you deal with it. I'm getting out of here."

Hinata looked at him slightly reproachfully, tears beginning to form in her eyes. She lowered her head, allowing her bangs to cover her eyes, so Sasuke would be unable to see her shed her tears. Glimpsing this, Sasuke felt a small twinge of guilt and remorse, but he ruthlessly shoved it aside, and strode away from her. Pausing at the threshold of the small building, he turned to her again.

"And just where the hell is my body?"

Another Author's Note: Sasuke is as Sasuke does. I'm hoping to introduce another character next chapter and continue their development. Review if you can!

OMAKE

Hinata poked her fingers together nervously... "Erm, well...about your body...I kinda...sold it to a pink haired girl. She said her name was Sakura..."

Sasuke's eyes widened in fear. "WHAT?" he screamed in horror. Unable to take it, he fainted.

Hinata looked at his downed body and grinned deviously. "Victory is Mine!" she muttered.


	4. Igniting the Fires of Youth

Author's Note: Editing my previously obnoxious A/N, I'm just here, trying to write a good fic, and I need your help to make it work! Review if you can!

Sasuke: Bleached

Chapter 4:

Sasuke opened his eyes, and glared at the morning sunlight filtering in through the blinds of the Uchiha Manor's master bedroom. It was a wonderful morning outside the gentle sunlight basking the surroundings in its warm glow, and the birds accompanying the superb view with cheerful calls. Most people would have stopped to enjoy it for a second, but not the lone Uchiha. Instead, Sasuke mentally cursed and crawled into the bathroom to get ready for school. His morning brooding was interrupted by images of a black robed woman flashing through his mind.

_Damn you..._

Sasuke grit his teeth and stepped out of his bathroom, running a hand through his jet black, raven hair.

_Was what happened yesterday...real? Am I really..._

Stepping out into the hallway, Sasuke stopped his wonderings abruptly at the sight in front of him. His eyes widened, his jaw dropped, and he completely forgot about his earlier ambition of getting to school on time. Instead, he pointed a shaking finger at the girl in front of him.

"Why the HELL are YOU here?"

Hinata looked down blushing, and started poking her index fingers together. "Ah...W-w-well, I-I realized i d-don't have a-a-anywhere to st-stay..."

Sasuke was completely thrown by this. "What the HELL? This isn't my problem..."

Hinata turned her white eyes to him. "ah, Pl-Please Sasuke...I n-need to look after you...till i get my powers back."

Sasuke huffed and fixed Hinata with a glare. "You...have until tonight. I want you out after that."

With that he strode past her and out the door of the Manor. Unknowst to him Hinata stood in the middle of the hall, looking after him sadly.

Sasuke jogged down the school halls, not even sweating from the exertion. Stopping outside his classroom door, he ran a hand through his hair, and barged into it. Looking around, his eyes widened as they were greeted with yet another unfamiliar sight. Instead of most of the students sleeping like they usually would, they were all awake, attentive and had their eyes on him. As much as he tried to take his seat without anyone bothering him, he was unsurprised to find that Sakura caught his eye just as he sat down.

"Seems like you were almost late there, huh Sasuke? Is the star pupil slacking off, or did you just have a late night?" she asked in a cheerful whisper.

Sasuke uttered a long suffering sigh. "I _really_ don't want to talk about last night," he mumbled.

...

At lunch time, the lone Uchiha attempted to find a secluded space on the school compound to enjoy his home made lunch. As usual, he suffered the misfortune of attracting the attention (and lust) of a sizeable portion of the females of the school as he stalked off and stood under a tree, muching on his sandwich. Sakura decided that she would take it on herself to deflect, or at least protect Sasuke from some of the more predatory stares he was receiving. So, she sauntered over to Sasuke's self-proclaimed spot, and sat down beside his feet.

Eyeing her with suspicion, Sasuke finished his sandwich before grating out, "What do you want?"

"Well...," Sakura drawled, casting a pointed look back towards the flocks of fangirls that peered at them from the other side of the school compound. "Essentially, I'm protecting you from the hordes of the undead over there". She offered him a quirky half-smile, hoping that she wasn't coming off as unusually forward, or weird.

_Whatever..._

By this point in his life, Sasuke was used to girls acting erratically around him, and was counting himself thankful that Sakura was still able to hold a civil conversation with him without drooling, or even worse attempting to kiss him. Looking away from Sakura, Sasuke looked up into the branches of the tree they were beside, hoping to find something to save him from actually engaging the pink-haired girl in conversation. Unfortunately, he found his wish fulfilled, but not in the way he wanted it.

_Not again... _

Sure enough, in the branches above him, Hinata beckoned urgently. Sasuke stared at her dumbfounded for a second, before mumbling a quiet, flimsy excuse to Sakura, and taking off in the direction Hinata had motioned him to.

_Things just keep getting better and better, don't they?_

...

After leading him away from the school compound, Hinata finally stopped. Sasuke remained silent, glaring at her as if daring her to provide an explanation good enough to warrant their sudden meeting. Suddenly feeling contrite, Hinata hung her head and began wringing her hands slightly.

"Uh, Sasuke...sorry for dragging you away from your friends like that...," she began.

'_So, I guess besides being strange and dangerous, she's completely unobservant as well_' Sasuke thought to himself.

"...but you need to know, that Soul Society reports that a powerful Hollow will soon be in this area, and will probably target your school, due to the high amount of human souls present!" she finished, her urgency echoing in her tone.

Sasuke scoffed, and began to turn away from her. "Not my prob-"

"You're the one with the power, Sasuke," Hinata muttered, her hands fisting bunches of the fabric of her black robe. "You have to stop it. I-I'm sorry I had to thrust this upon you, and I promise, I will help find a way to return the power so I can do this job. But please...you don't know how important it is that...that..."

Her head suddenly dipped, so that her bangs obscured her eyes, and she rubbed at her face with one hand, barely managing to smother the sound of a sniffle as it escaped.

"It's...important that we...I-I do this job..." she muttered.

Standing with his back to her, Sasuke rolled his eyes. _Just another weak person who can't do their duty, huh?_

"Just show me what I need to do".

...

"Wha-What're you doing?"

Hinata looked apologetic and a bit guilty, and mumbled. "It's the only way to force out your Shinigami powers..." and with no further ado, she punched Sasuke in the face. Surprised, Sasuke actually squeezed his eyes shut once he saw the fist aproaching his face, and then opened them again to find himself on the floor...staring at himself.

"Argh! What the-" Sasuke then held up his arms, and saw the black robes he was dressed in, and glanced back at his body lying on the sidewalk. He muttered a soft "Oh." in comprehension. Hinata stripped the gloves off her hands, and dragged Sasuke's body into some bushes. Then she turned around and pointed at the hollow, a slight smile on her face.

"Sasuke, I hope you beat the Hollow!"

Blushing minutely, Sasuke turned his head away. "I'll do it. But first you have to show me where exactly this hollow is supposed to show up."

Hinata cocked her head, her eyes searching the distance. "It seems like it's approaching on one of the roads to your school. Come on!"

They quickly ran towards the playground and hopped the fence easily. The sound of their entrance distracted the Hollow, who had cornered an innocent victim beside a children's slide. It reared up on its two hind feet, and leered at Sasuke. This hollow had a furry body, almost like an oversized shaggy dog, with a grotesque white mask with grinning features. It had been salivating over a small boy who was playing on the slide, completely oblivious to the danger that had approached it.

"Damn Shinigami, always interrupting my meals..." the Hollow muttered.

Sasuke ignored its taunt, and ran straight at it. Grinning widely, the Hollow slammed its arm down in an effort to crush Sasuke, who retaliated by blocking its large arm with the flat of his Soul Slayer. Grunting, Sasuke twisted his sword around, and slashed upwards, severing the arm of the Hollow. The monster roared with pain and punched Sasuke with its other arm, sending him crashing through the slide, to land beside the boy.

Sasuke coughed once, and got to his feet, grimacing in pain. Beside him, the child had stopped in the middle of his horseplay, and was glancing around with a confused look on his face.

"Hinata!" Sasuke called out. "What's with the kid?"

"He doesn't have the ability to see you!" Hinata hissed back urgently, from her position beside the fence. "Concentrate on the Hollow!"

The Hollow meanwhile, had gotten over the pain of losing an arm, and rushed towards Sasuke, who had his back turned to him. The Hollow cocked its remaining arm, ready to unleash a devastating blow to Sasuke, but Sasuke neatly stepped backwards, anticipating its move, and smoothly slashed across the Hollow's torso, spilling its blood on the ground.

"Ugh...shit." the monster muttered, before Sasuke slashed its mask in two. As Sasuke sheathed his Soul Slayer, the Hollow dissolved into nothingness.

Sasuke stretched his arms out, and then turned back the way he had come, with Hinata following close by. "Well, that was fun," he muttered sarcastically.

Hinata looked up at him. "Sasuke...i'm glad y-you...helped that that boy."

He shrugged. "I guess I'm accepting this Shinigami shit...as my...duty...". He looked upwards, to the darkening sky.

_Mother...Father...Brother...would you be proud?_

_A/N_ : Major changes for this fic, coming your way soon. As always, please read and review if you can!


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